Friday, July 24, 2009

Talking TV

I have received a few emails from readers who are excited about Comcast adding ESPN U to some basic cable tiers. That's good news for BC fans under any circumstances and this year is even more important with many of our games likely pushed to the U. But a bigger issue is on the horizon -- the ACC TV deal.


As you can read here, the SEC TV has set a precedent. The SEC deal also creates a problem for the ACC. The SEC cut a deal with ESPN first and therefore gobbled up value scheduling real estate and syndication partnerships. Now there is speculation that the ACC will partner with other conferences (perhaps the Pac 10 and/or Big 12) for some sort of network. We'll see if and how that would happen. No one is asking me, but instead of going the Big Ten route with a custom network, I would prefer the ACC leverage its assets and get a ESPN/broadcast/syndication package as close to the SEC's as possible.


It's not outlandish to think this could happen. The ACC has a few things over the SEC:
1. A more populous geography
2. More major TV markets
3. A better basketball product that translates better into national markets. As much as we tire of Duke-Carolina, that game gets huge ratings nationally. More than double any SEC basketball game would get.


As fans of BC and the ACC we shouldn't worry about access. We'll get to see more games on more channels regardless of how the negotiations work. But play attention to the $$$, since we want the conference to get as much money as possible. More money for the ACC means more money for BC and better sports for us.

1 comment:

eagleboston said...

Darn,this SEC deal means I will not be able to see as many games in the comfort of my own home. This means I'll have to journey to my brother's house or a sports bar to see as many BC games as I saw last year. Hopefully, ESPN 360 will also carry some games. I wish my crappy cable company would put the U on its basic tier.